Mulan: After Happily Ever After
by gracemarin121212
Summary: Mulan and Shang are expecting their first baby, but the Hun army is invading China for the second time. As Mulan goes into labor, Shang's life is in danger. With her contractions building, her water broken, and the urge to push becoming stronger, will Mulan make it to Shang before it's too late? Please write reviews and fill out my poll for the next fic!
Mulan and Shang had been married for over a year when Mulan found out she was pregnant with their first baby. With everyone in their family overjoyed, they prayed to their ancestors for a healthy baby and watched as Mulan's stomach swelled to accommodate the growing baby.

When Mulan was only 3 months along, they received word that the Hun army had once again invaded the Northern part of China and the emperor was requesting both her and Shang to act as generals for the Chinese army. Shang begged Mulan to stay at home, to take care of herself and the baby, but Mulan insisted on wearing loose armor and going anyways.

They led training for the new troops over the course of the next few months, until Mulan was 7 months pregnant. Luckily, she was carrying small and low so it was easier to conceal her expanding bump. As far as they knew, no one suspected anything amiss and they planned for Mulan to be sent home when she hit the 37th week of her pregnancy.

Halfway through Mulan's 8th month, the Hun army made startling advances towards the emperor's troops. To prepare the troops for the battles upcoming later in the week, Mulan and Shang continued their training later than usual in the day. As the sun began to set, Shang took off for a run with half of the men. Mulan stayed and supervised target practice near the tents. As the archers shot their arrows, Mulan suddenly felt a cramp. It was strange, especially almost 5 weeks from her due date. She remained calm, and leaned up against a tree to take pressure off of her lower back. The cramp soon disappeared, and upon deciding that it was nothing, she resumed critiquing the soldiers on their archery. Too soon after, she felt another cramp. She stood behind the men and rocked from leg to leg, trying to act natural. After at least a dozen cramps came at different intervals, a much more severe cramp, more of a sharp pain, shot from her womb throughout the entirety of her abdomen. Trying again not to draw attention to herself, she excused herself into her tent for a moment. She lowered herself down to her bedroll and pulled the bulky armor over her head and onto the ground. She rhythmically rubbed her tense belly, massaging a few inches below her belly button. She rocked from knee to knee, opening her legs in another attempt to relieve the pressure she felt in her pelvis. After the cramp subsided, she pulled the armor back over her head and walked back out to the archers. 12 short minutes later, Mulan was showing an inadequate archer the proper way to shoot. As she pulled the arrow back to her ear, she felt another cramp coming on. Releasing her arrow for a quick bull's-eye, she quickly turned to make it back to her tent before the pain overtook her. After only 3 steps, she was completely consumed by the contraction. Every soldier turned his head as she fell on her knees to the ground, crying out in agony. As a crowd gathered around her, one of the men pulled her armor off of her shoulders. Her nearly full- term bump was revealed, and gasps surrounded her as she held tight to her contracting tummy.

A soldier was sent for Shang, who immediately rushed to the medical tent, where he found Mulan settled on a bedroll with her feet propped up at an angle. "Mulan! What-…" "Braxton Hicks" she answered, cutting him off. "Nothing but false labor pains." Relieved, Shang kissed the top of Mulan's forehead. Their relief, however, was short lived as another soldier burst into the tent announcing an unexpected Hun invasion just a few miles away. The army scrambled for their weapons and marched off, leaving Mulan alone in the medical tent back at camp. She quickly went to sleep, exhausted from the eventful day she had had. The Braxton hicks continued of course, but she found rubbing her belly in certain ways did wonders in relieving the pain, and with her feet propped up they began to slow until she felt normal again.

A week after Shang and the rest of the army had left, Mulan started on the short walk to the river from her tent to fetch more water. On her way back, she felt another cramp. Sighing with dismay, Mulan sat on the ground to rest through it. _Braxton Hicks again. Perfect._ As the cramp subsided, she walked the remaining 5 minutes back to her tent. After arriving back at her tent, she laid down on her bedroll for a nap. Just as she was drifting off, she was startled by another cramp, slightly stronger than the last. She sat up, rubbing circles across her swollen belly, pressing the underside, trying to turn the baby into a different position. As she pushed down on the topside of her belly, just below her breasts, she felt the baby move. She felt the baby's head drop into her pelvis, and immediately felt pressure. It was excruciating. She desperately clawed her fingers into the underside of her belly once again, trying to get the baby to move upwards again. As the cramp began to ease off, Mulan leaned back onto her pillows, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She adjusted her cotton dress over her bump, trying to relax herself as she massaged the sides of her abdomen.

After 5 minutes of sitting in surprise, Mulan calmed herself down and convinced herself yet again that the pains were nothing but Braxton Hicks and dropping was normal at this stage of the pregnancy. She propped her feet up on pillows, loosed the ties of her dress, and slowly drank sips of water. She pushed her fingers into her lower back and sides, massaging her tummy gently. She drifted off into relaxation, running her hands over her belly and calming with every minute that passed. That was when she heard the heavy panting of someone running up to her tent. She sat up quickly, forgetting her Braxton Hicks, and rushed outside to see if it was Shang. It was Mushu, who was supposed to be spying on the Hun Army miles away. He quickly explained that the army marching in their direction was a ploy, and the real army was headed for the emperor. He commanded that Mulan go and warn Shang while he headed to the palace. Then he was gone as quickly as he had gotten there.

Mulan rushed back into her tent, looking for her sword. That was when another cramp hit. She gasped, cradling her stomach in her arms as she collapsed on her knees. This cramp was again stronger than the last. Her belly was hard, unlike anything she had felt throughout her pregnancy. She knew she probably going into labor.

Rubbing the underside of her tummy as the contraction ended, Mulan sat up straighter and picked up her sword. She tied her belt around her massive abdomen, and then tied her sword to the belt. Labor or no labor, Shang needed her and she had to warn him before it was too late. She put on her shoes with much difficulty, and headed out in the snow.

Mulan trudged along, even the small weight of her sword feeling like monstrous strain on her heavily pregnant frame. She walked forward with small steps, continuously rubbing her belly in an effort to slow her contractions. Only 10 minutes after leaving her tent, another contraction overtook her. She leaned up against the large boulder, rocking back and forth, doubling over from the pain. She finally squatted on the ground and brought her head between her knees. She was grateful to find some relief in this position, and used it for the next 4 contractions, with the last one coming 8 minutes after the third.

After using the squatting position during those contractions, she lowered herself to the ground when the next one hit. Rocking back and forth, holding underneath her belly just above the ground, she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. 15 seconds into the contraction, she knew this one was different. She felt a sudden shooting pain, starting around her belly button and moving downward as she heard a strange sound. Opening her eyes, she realized that her water had broken onto the snow, and as she was wrapping her head around that fact and rocking back and forth she felt yet another sensation- her baby once again descending. This was also unlike the first time, because there was no sack of water to stop it. She felt it move right down into the bottom of her pelvis, and screamed aloud as she felt his head pressed against her very bones. When her long contraction had finally ended, she stood back up to feel even worse than before. The baby was so low she felt as if it was practically between her legs. She waddled on, but the breaking of her water had clearly quickened her already rapid labor. The situation felt dire. She was alone, clearly in hard labor, and her husband was in danger.

Only a mile from Shang, Mulan's contractions were only 2 minutes apart, and she was starting to feel the urge to push. She was fully dilated, and the baby was definitely coming fast. She tensed her body with every contraction, willing herself not to push until she made it to Shang.

Finally, Mulan stumbled up to the army, where she fell into Shang's arms. He gently lowered her to the ground. Her next contraction kept building, and again she felt the urge to push. Sobbing in Shang's arms, she clutched her tightened belly and began pushing. The baby's head was crowning by the time that contraction ended. Before her next contraction, Mulan repositioned herself into a squat with Shang's help, massaging and pushing the top of her bump as the baby continued to ease downward. She moaned as the next contraction came upon her, and within a minute or two she caught a beautiful baby boy in her arms.

He grew to be a handsome boy, and joined the Chinese army following in his parent's footsteps. He always carried and cricket for good luck, and it paid off when he led the army to defeat the Hun army for the last time. He was present at the Emperor's death, and was appointed a very important governmental position afterwards, but turned it down to come home and care for his two parents, crippled from their own years of combat. And he was called Ping.


End file.
